Cleaning apparatus



Nov. 19, 1957 M. E. WARK CLEANING APPARATUS Filed Aug. 23, 1955 m m w. m

Mar/an E, Wark 2,813,291 Patented Nov. 19, 1957 United States PatentOfifiee 2,813,291 CLEANING APPARATUS Marian E. Wark, Grand Rapids, Mich.Application August 23, 1955, Serial No. 530,055 1 Claim. or. -409 Thisinvention relates to cleaning apparatus and more particularly tocleaning apparatus for household uses.

Many different types of cleaning devices are marketed for household usesto clean pots and pans, kitchen equipment, vegetables, etc. Most ofthese marketed items came in the form of a sponge or pad made of asemirigid abrasive material for scouring the surfaces to be cleaned. l

' One well-known itemis a metal sponge made of numerous, curled,metallic, fibers bunched and intertwined together. One using the spongegrasps the body of the sponge and rubs it against the surface to becleaned. The curled, metallic fibers abrade or rub off the dirt from thesurface.

Another common type "of scouring element is knitted from acontinuouscopper ribbon. .The knit is very coarse thereby leaving spaces orinterstices between the ribbons or fibers. As a result, the ribbons orfibers are permitted to rub against the surface to be cleaned.

Other types of scouring elementsare presently being marketed. Some ofthese elements are made of a plastic material which issemi-rigid and hasabrasive qualities for scouring the dirty surface to be cleaned.

A disadvantage of all of these scouring pads is the requirement that theone cleaning the surface has to grasp it with the hand. Since the fibersof which the pads are made are semi-rigid and of necessity are abrasive,frequently the fingers of the person cleaning the surface are marred andscratched. In some cases the metallic scouring pads will leave splintersin the fingers causing the finger to eventually fester. Another bigdisadvantage of these pads is the fact that the one cleaning thesurface, usually in washing pots and pans, has to emerse his hands intothe water. Numerous devices have been developed for eliminating the needof emersing the hands in the wash water but none of these have beencompletely satisfactory used with a scouring pad of the type describedabove.

An object of this invention is to provide a cleaning and scouringapparatus which will eliminate the need of grasping the scouring fibers.

Another object of this invention is to provide a means for mounting ascouring element on a support having a handle.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a means forsupporting a scouring element, of the type described above, on a handlein such a manner that the scouring pad will be evenly distributed on thesupport and be held firmly in that position.

Other objects will become apparent upon reading the followingspecification in conjunction with the appended drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 shows an oblique view of the cleaning apparatus.

Fig. 2 shows a side elevational cross sectional view of the apparatustaken along the plane II-II of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 shows a modified form of the invention.

Briefly, this invention relates to the combination of a fibers havingopenings or interstices therebetween through which the bristles of thebrush are adapted to extend. The scouring element is shaped to fit aboutthe brush and when placed on the brush the bristles extend through theopenings or interstices between the fibers of the scouring element. Withthis arrangement the bristles firmly hold the scouring element evenlydistributed on the brush. This even distribution of the scouring elementis maintained by the bristles.

1 A more detailed explanation of this invention can be made. by refeningtothedrawings. In Fig. 1 reference numeral 10 indicates the brush.Thebrush 10 has a handle 11 and the wire support member 1.2 extendingtherefrom and secured rigidly in the handle. As illustrated, wiresupport members 12 include two wires wound one on each other. Thisstructure is provided for the purpose of mounting or securing thebristles 13 between the wires. The bristles are gripped between thewires and extend radially in all directionstherefrom.

Reference numeral '14 indicates the scouring element. This scouring padcan be many different types, some of which have been previously referredto. In the drawing there is shown the type consisting of numerous,semi-rigid, curled fibers. These fibers are very similar to thin metalshavings obtainedjfrorircutting"threads in a screw or bolt. The'curledfibers are very fine and are matted or bunched together so that theybecome intertwined. The

Another type ofscouring element is fabricated by knit,

ting a ribbonof semi rigid fnaterialx The scouring elementusuallyfconsists' bfseveial layers 6f such" knitted material. Theknitting is very coarse thereby leaving openings or interstices in thebody of the element. The shape of the openings or interstices dependsupon the type of knit or weave. This does not form a part of thisinvention. The only prerequisite is that there be sufficient largeenough openings or interstices between the fibers for the bristles 13 toextend therethrough. In the knitted type of scouring pad the pad isplaced about the brush and pushed onto the bristles of the brush so thatthe bristles extend into the openings or interstices between the fibers.The shape of the brush shown in Fig. 1 works very satisfactorily forsuch a knitted type scouring element because the knitted material can bepushed in between the loop formed by the bristles. The bristles thenhold the knitted material on the brush.

This latter type scouring element can be made either of metal or anyother type of abrasive material. An example of a metal knitted scouringelement is that marketed under the name of Chore Girl, the trademark ofthe Metal Textile Corporation. The Chore Girl, scouring element isknitted from continuous copper ribbon. Some knitted scouring elementsare made of plastic material. An example of one is that marketed underthe name Tutfy, the trademark of the S. O. S. Company.

In the broadcast aspect of this invention, the material from which thescouring element is made does not make any difference. The onlyprerequisite is that the material be semi-rigid, fibrous, and haveabrasive qualities. By abrasive qualities I do not mean that it willscratch but that it will tend to rub ofi dirt from a surface.

Fig. 3 shows a modified shape of a brush. Reference numeral 20 indicatesthe brush comprising the handle 21, the wire support member 22, and thebristles 23. In this modification, the handle is circular in shape. Thisconfiguration is such that when one grasps the handle, the top of thehandle bears against the palm of the hand. The wire support member 22 issecured to the handle 21. The wires 22 are circular, making the brushdonut shaped. The scouring element 14 is mounted on the brush 20 in thesame manner as that previously described in respect to Fig. l.

The preferred scouring element to be used in this invention is thecurled fiber type. This curled fiber type is preferable for severalreasons. First, it is easily deformed and can be evenly distributed onthe brush easier than the other types of scouring elements. Anotheradvantage is that the curled fiber type scouring element need not bemanufactured in any particular shape. The elements can be matted orbunched together in a ball and when it is to be placed on the brush thematerial can be easily pulled apart and shaped to conform with the shapeof the brush. Furthermore, the curled type element need not be made inany specific size. If one size is too large some of the curled fiberscan be easily parted from the ball and the remaining fibers installed onthe brush. If the ball is too small, additional fibers can be added tothe original ball and then formed to the appropriate shape for fittingonto the brush.

The curled fiber type scouring element also adheres to the brush moreeffectively than the other types of scouring elements. The curled fiberstend to wrap around each of the bristles 13 and 23. Thus, they cling tothe brush and are not easily displaced or moved by use.

One important advantage of this apparatus is that the scouring elementscan be easily placed on the support and moved when it is necessary toreplace the element. No intricate support means is necessary to attachthe scouring element to the support. After the scouring element has beenused for some time and it becomes worn or dirty, it can be simplyremoved by pulling it away from the bristles 13. Then a clean scouringelement can be placed on the bristles. During the use of the curled,fiber type scouring element, the fibers are sometimes pushed between thebristles. In such .cases, the cleaning apparatus may be reconditioned bysimply pulling an adell. quate number of fibers outwardly of thebristles a sufiicient distance so that the abrasive characteristic ofthe unit is restored.

In some instances, especially with the knitted type scouring element, itmay be desirable for purposes of appearance to secure the ends of thescouring element together at the base of the brush.

It will be seen thatI have provided a cleaning apparatus having a verysimple but very efiective mounting means for the scouring element. Thescouring element is evenly distributed over the support and also is heldfirmly on the support, this being accomplished by simply placing thescouring element on the bristles of the brush. It should be understoodthat in describing this invention the embodiment and modifications shownare for purposes of illustration only. Various and diflerentmodifications and embodiments can be utilized without departing from thescope of this invention. This invention should only be limited asexpressly stated in the appended claim.

I claim:

A cleaning brush comprising a central core with bristles divergingtherefrom; a scouring element made of curled, metallic, non-woven fibersbunched together to form a metallic sponge; said element substantiallyenveloping said brush with said bristles extending between said curled.fibers and a substantial number of said fibers wrapped around saidbristles whereby said element is firmly held in place by said bristles.

References Cited the file of this patent Great Britain s Oct. 24, 1933}

